Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has said he is trying to increase the new flat fee rate for criminal legal aid solicitors which is set to be introduced this Wednesday, in a bid to stop objections from solicitors who offer free legal aid. The new flat fee for district court legal aid will be set between €455 to €580 with the final fee to be announced by the Minister before the introduction of the new system on Wednesday. The Minister said he is in discussions
with the Department of Public Expenditure to increase the flat fee from the €455 he initially proposed. Speaking on RTÉ Radio One on Sunday, Minister O’Callaghan denied he had made a mess of the situation, with criminal legal aid solicitors withdrawing their services in protest, leading to the adjournment of thousands of cases across the country. “I’m in discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and Minister Chambers, I can’t just make decisions like this on my own,” he said. “I very much
recognise and acknowledge the important role played by the legal profession in the administration of justice, and I will be looking to see if I can increase the €455 that I have proposed initially,” he said. The Minister said that the new flat fee system will be “happening on Wednesday” regardless of protests by solicitors. “There will be a new model for fees in this criminal court of the district court introduced from Wednesday,” he said. “It’ll be one accused, one fee. I’m going to
try and get it up from €455 It’ll be a very generous fee when you compare it to the €240 that was there previously, and I think it’s something that’s got to create great efficiencies in the district court,” he said. Under the existing system solicitors providing criminal legal aid are paid per court appearance and the Minister is moving to replace it with a flat fee per case, regardless of how many appearances the case requires. The Law Society of Ireland, The Bar of
Ireland, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) and the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) have all raised concerns with the new flat rate fee and have called on the minister to reconsider his plans. The Government is planning to increase the fees paid to criminal defence solicitors by 8pc for all cases in the Circuit Court and Higher courts from July 1. However, the Minister said he is targeting “greater
efficiencies” in the district court with the new flat fee. He has highlighted that he wants to reform the payment as criminal case volumes in the District Court have decreased, expenditure on criminal legal aid in the District Court nearly doubled, from €19 million in 2015 to €37 million in 2024.
Jim O’Callaghan, Justice Minister, criminal legal aid, district court, flat fee, solicitor protests, RTÉ Radio One, adjournment of cases, Law Society of Ireland, Bar of Ireland, IHREC, ICCL, IPRT, FLAC, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Minister Chambers